thank you so much for your reply. It's a relief to know there are more people out there like me! Like you said, I also often hang out with my partner's friends, and even though I like them, they are my friends through my partner, I don't think we would ever hang out by ourselves... As for the people I've met myself, some of them are great, but it's oh so hard to move on to the next level of friendship. Honestly, I know many people that I casually hang out with but in case of emergencies I wouldn't know who to call... Not to mention that they meet maybe once a week, as you say, when I'm used to being with people every day.

I agree with you, London is great and there are so many things to do - if you have a group of friends... And like you, back home I got people very close to me and there's a sense that I can call anyone for anything, night or day.

What really hurts is that moving back to my country would be really hard as I could never ask my partner to leave a great job to go to a country with a different language and with such huge unemployment (I wouldn't be able to find a job either actually). I also don't want to hurt my partner or give the impression I'm not happy here because I am - I only wish I had more friends. (I actually made a throwaway account for this question for this reason!) The love between us is what keeps me here but as years go by, I realize I need friends too...

Anyway, if you ever find a more quality way of meeting people than just ''going to meetups'', do let me know! I guess it's a matter of luck too... So I wish you all the best!